No Leader Should Travel Alone

Last week I found out that one of our former youth pastors, DB Antrim, died suddenly. My heart immediately felt pierced by pain for him, his wife and children. I remember DB as a fun loving and effective youth minister and I wondered what happened to this young man with a wonderful wife and two young sons. It was about 12 hours later that I learned that he had tragically taken his own life. My pain turned into a tidal wave of emotions: anguish, anger, sadness, sorrow, confusion, bewilderment and frustration! I began thinking about his family and then started thinking about all the youth he had touched over the years and what they were going through.

Suicide is insidious! It is a twisted trap that the enemy of our souls uses to devour us. Suicide needs to be confronted as a sinister plot of the father of lies.

How do we deal with this? What do we say to families, friends and all those touched by his ministry? I was very impressed with how DB’s pastor, Brandon Barker, handled this painful situation, as I listened to his message on May 4th Dealing with Loss. Here were a few things I took away:

1) He dealt with it head on. Pastor Barker told how he was the person who actually found DB in his car and found the five individually sealed letters that DB left behind, one of which was for him. In a courageous moment during the message he actually read DB’s letter that was left for him.

2) He shared his pain. He authentically shared his horror, the depth of his anguish, the realty of his anger, and his own questions around this tragedy. "On Thursday night at 5:30 in the evening, DB our friend, our family pastor, lay dead in front of my eyes, his life taken by his own hands. Since then my life has been a whirlwind. His family's life has been a whirlwind. The church has been in a whirlwind. And in the midst of this is a raging sea of emotions," he revealed. "As I saw him, the first feeling that I had was anguish. I was completely destroyed. Sadness is not even close to the word that described how I felt. … [It] was as if I was watching myself…what in the world is going on? How could this happen?"

3) He gave people permission to express their pain to God. Through honestly working out his pain in front of the congregation he gave them permission to feel their pain and gave them a model for expressing their pain before God.

4) He preached truth. He spoke the truth about sin. He spoke the truth about the lies of the enemy. A powerful moment in the message was after he read DB’s letter when he said, “This sounds sentimental, but it is an outright lie!” He believed Satan’s lies in a moment of weakness, that the life of his family and our church will be better without him. This was a diabolical lie! We are not better without him, his boys are not better without him, his wife is not better without him. This was so far from the truth and was nothing but a lie he believed.

5) He offered hope through the gospel. He preached sin, grace, repentance, forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. He read a scripture that was very meaningful to him during this time. “…because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit usfrom on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-19)

6) He called the church to purity. He spoke directly to the secret sins of the church and in the life of all believers. He called them to confess their sins to one another (James 5:16).

7) He called the church to a new level of generosity and service for the family. “We are not just going to be here for the next thirty days, but for as long as they need us and for long as it takes.” If you would like to assist the family through a generous gift we would strongly encourage it. Give Here

This young pastor pushed through his own pain and turned a tragic loss into a defining moment for his church and God’s kingdom work.

This caused me to ask questions about how we can help pastors and church leaders deal with this subject of suicide. So here are some resources to help pastors and church leaders:

Here are a few excerpts that will move you to your knees in prayer for your pastors:

Such is the importance of the Christian ministry, that we are constrained to entreat for it one particular favor. It is a request in which we feel a very deep personal concern, Pray for us! "Pray for us", pleads the Apostle in I Thessalonians 5:25; pray for us is the hearty response from every Christian pulpit in the land, and in the wide world. If the prayers of good men were entreated by such a man as Paul; and if, with his giant intellect, his eminent spirituality, and his intimate communion with God and things unseen, this holy man needed this encouragement and impulse in his work, who will not say "Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified!" (II Thessalonians 3:1).

It is a delightful thought to a young man entering upon the ministry of reconciliation that, unworthy as he is, the prayers of thousands of God's people are continually going up, on his behalf, to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. He seems to hear the church of God saying to him, We cannot go to this sacred work, but we will follow you with our prayers!

Let the thought sink deep into the heart of every church, that their minister will be very much such a minister as their prayers may make him. If nothing short of Omnipotent grace can make a Christian, nothing less than this can make a faithful and successful minister of the Gospel!

If God's people are going to expect powerful and successful sermons, their prayers must make him a blessing to the souls of men! Would they have him come to them in the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of peace, with a pounding heart, a burning eye, and a glowing tongue, and with sermons bathed in tears and filled with prayer? If so, their prayers must urge him to pray, and their tears inspire his thrilling heart with the strong yearnings of Christian affection. It is in their own closets that the people of God most effectively challenge their beloved ministers to take heed to the ministry they have received from the Lord Jesus (see Acts 20:24).

And who and what are ministers themselves? Frail men, fallible, sinning men, exposed to every snare, to temptation in every form; and, from the very post of observation they occupy, they are an easier target for the fiery darts of the foe. They are not trite victims the great Adversary is seeking, when he would wound and cripple Christ's ministers. One such victim is worth more to the kingdom of darkness than a number of common men; and for this very reason their temptations are probably more subtle and severe than those encountered by ordinary Christians. If this subtle Deceiver fails to destroy them, he cunningly aims at neutralizing their influence by quenching the fervor of their piety, lulling them into negligence, and doing all in his power to render their work burdensome. How perilous is the condition of that minister then, whose heart is not encouraged, whose hands are not strengthened, and who is not upheld by the prayers of his people! It is not in his own closet and on his own knees alone, that he finds security and comfort, and ennobling, humbling, and purifying thoughts and joys; but it is when they also seek them in his behalf, that he becomes a better and happier man, and a more useful minister of the everlasting Gospel! HT

Reflective Questions

Is your pastor or pastors permanently on your prayer list?

Does your church have a focused intercession team for your pastoral leaders?

How could your church board encourage the members of the church to pray effectively for your pastors?

Pastors, how do you encourage and reinforce your need for the prayers of God's people?

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And what is true of Biblical leaders is equally true of historical and contemporary leaders. It is the firstobservation to which this article speaks. Identifying the fact that few leaders finish well was a breakthrough warning for me. This led to further study. Why do few leaders finish well? What stops them? What helps them? What does it mean to finish well? This article identifies six characteristics of those finishing well."

Six Characteristics of Leaders who Finish Well.

Characteristic 1 - They maintain a personal vibrant relationship with God right up to the end.

Characteristic 2 - They maintain a learning posture and can learn from various kinds of sources—life especially.

Characteristic 3 - They manifest Christ-likeness in character as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

Characteristic 4 - Truth is lived out in their lives so that convictions and promises of God are seen tobe real.

Characteristic 5 - They leave behind one or more ultimate contributions.

Characteristic 6 - They walk with a growing awareness of a sense of destiny and see some or all of it fulfilled.

Over 20 years ago I read Rick Warren’s 10 commandments for dealing with opposite sex for ministry staff. It has served me and others well over the years.

I thought I would give it a shot at updating the in light of the changes in culture and technology that are facing ministers of all ages.

You will not go to lunch or meet for coffee alone with the opposite sex.*

You will not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you.*

You will not kiss any attender of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.*

You will not visit the opposite sex alone at home.*

You will not counsel or mentor the opposite sex alone at the office, and I will not counsel or mentor the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.

You will not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.

You will not discuss your marriage problems with an attender of the opposite sex.

You will be careful in answering emails, instant messages, texts, facebook chats, online chat rooms, cards or letters from the opposite sex and you will notify your spouse and your supervisor if you receive anything of a questionable nature.

You will make your co-workers and team members a protective ally.

You will pray for the integrity of other staff members and leaders in the church.

[*The first four do not apply to unmarried staff.] Source: Pastors.com

Sexual temptations are lurking around every corner in our lives today! Resisting the temptation to gratify the flesh is a full-time job.

We need to learn how to rehearse the melody of the gospel in our lives like a classical musician rehearses a beautiful sonata.

For the graceof God that brings salvation has appearedto all men.It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions,and to live self-controlled,upright and godly livesin this present age,while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearingof our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,who gave himself for usto redeem us from all wickednessand to purifyfor himself a people that are his very own,eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

David Brainerd a young missionary in his 20's understood the need for fasting in the advancement of the Gospel as well as the expansion of his soul. Here is a brief testimony from his diary:

Feeling somewhat of the sweetness of communion with God and the force of His love and how it captivates my soul and makes all my desires and affections to center in God, I set apart this day for fasting and prayer to God, to bless me in view of preaching the Gospel. I had life and power in prayer this afternoon. God enabled me to wrestle ardently in intercession for my friends. The Lord visited me marvelously in prayer. I think my soul was never in such agony before. I felt no restraint, for the treasures of God’s grace were opened to me. I wrestled for absent friends and for the ingathering of poor souls. I was in such agony from sun half an hour high till near dark that I was all over wet with sweat. Oh! my dear Savior did sweat blood for these poor souls! I longed for more compassion toward them. I was under a sense of divine love, and went to bed in such a frame of mind, with my heart set on God.

Questions for reflection:

Do you have a fasting testimony?

When is the last time you wrestled with God over the souls of men & women in your life?

When is the last time you tasted the sweetness of God's grace deep with in your soul?

Bill Bright the passionate leader of Campus Crusade (CRU) had a power experience with God in the late 1990's specifically around this area of fasting. Read his fasting testimony and allow God to speak to you through it.

"I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the world.

Increasingly I have been gripped with a growing sense of urgency to call upon God to send revival to our beloved country. In the spring and summer of 1994, I had a growing conviction that God wanted me to fast and pray for forty days for revival in America and for the fulfillment of the Great Commission in obedience to our Lord's command.

At first I questioned, "Is this truly God's call for me?" Forty days was a long time to go without solid food. But with each passing day, His call grew stronger and more clear. Finally, I was convinced. God was calling me to fast, and He would not make such a call without a specific reason or purpose. With this conviction, I entered my fast with excitement and expectancy mounting in my heart, praying, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

I believe such a long fast was a sovereign call of God because of the magnitude of the sins of America and of the Church. The Lord impressed that upon my heart, as well as the urgent need to help accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation.

As I began my fast, I was not sure I could continue for forty days. But my confidence was in the Lord to help me. Each day His presence encouraged me to continue. The longer I fasted, the more I sensed the presence of the Lord. The Holy Spirit refreshed my soul and spirit, and I experienced the joy of the Lord as seldom before. Biblical truths leaped at me from the pages of God's Word. My faith soared as I humbled myself and cried out to God and rejoiced in His presence.

This proved to be the most important forty days of my life. As I waited upon the Lord, the Holy Spirit gave me the assurance that America and much of the world will, before the end of the year 2000, experience a great spiritual awakening. This divine visit from heaven will kindle the greatest spiritual harvest in the history of the Church. But before God comes in revival power, the Holy Spirit will call millions of God's people to repent, fast, and pray in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

The scope of this revival depends on how believers in America and the rest of the world respond to this call. I have spent fifty years studying God's Word and listening to His voice, and His message could not have been more clear." HT

For more on this subject download Bill Bright's 7 Basic Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer

January 4, 2013 – It’s that time again—the end of one year and the beginning of another—when people resolve to make some changes in their lives. New Year’s resolutions are certainly nothing new—in fact, for many people, they are the same year after year. Making and breaking resolutions is something of a tradition. A new study from the Barna Group examines the temptations Americans say they most commonly struggle with—and how they resolve to deal with these moral and ethical lures.

The research reveals some new—and not so new—aspects to the temptations facing today’s adults. The research was conducted in conjunction with a book project from Todd Hunter called Our Favorite Sins.

This week we continue to answer the following question: How does God’s enemy come after His people and His leaders for the sole purpose of distracting, disrupting and derailing them from being involved in God's great mission?

As we survey Pauline literature we will discover fourteen tactical strategies that the enemy will use to come after God's people along with specific antidotes in addressing that problem. See the introduction to this series to receive an overview of this subject.

2. Sexual Temptations, Abuse of Christian Liberty & Addictions

"Sexual temptations are lurking around every corner in our lives today! Resisting the temptation to gratify the flesh is a full-time job." - Gary Rohrmayer

Text: I Corinthians 5:5 – “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?”

I Corinthians 6:12-20 - "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Problem: "Satan can destroy a life by controlling a person through immoral sexual addiction along with other additive substances such as food, alcohol, medication, etc." J.Robert Clinton

Antidote: "Avoid situations that can lead to sexual addiction and frequently ask the question 'Am I being controlled by these substances, sexual impulses or the Spirit of God?'" J.Robert Clinton

Reflective Questions:

If the enemy of God were to attack one area of your life do you know what area he would try to exploit?

What are you actively doing to release the stress build up in your life?

Are your actively crossing a moral line in your thought life? (Mathew 6:27-30)

When is the last time you did a rigorous spiritual inventory of your life?

Have you ever said “I really need...” or “I really deserve...”?

Have you ever attempted a “spiritual fast” to break “bonds of wickedness” in your life? (Isaiah 58:6)

Prayer: Father in Heaven, I praise You for not only redeeming my soul but for redeeming my body as well. Through the death and resurrection of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, my body is now a temple for Your Holy Spirit to reside. Holy Father, grant me the courage to deal with sin in my flesh and in the church rigorously. Righteous Father through the power of the resurrection help me to seek want is beneficial and not what is simply permissible. Loving Father, I surrender my desires and sexual impulses to You as I seek to honor You with my body. Father, I desire to treat my relationships with the opposite sex with caution, care and in an honorable way. Heavenly Father You are my master and I desire to be controlled by You and Your desires alone. I come to You in the strong name of Jesus, Amen

Over the next couple of months we are setting out to answer the following question: How
does God’s enemy come after His people and His leaders for the sole
purpose of distracting, disrupting and derailing them from being
involved in God's great mission?

As we survey Pauline literature we will discover fourteen tactical
strategies that the enemy will use to come after God's people along with
specific antidotes in addressing that problem. See the introduction to this series to receive an overview of this subject.

1. Relational Viruses or Relational Strife

"Suspicion is like a cankerworm that slowly eats away at relationships."

Text:
Romans 16:17-20 – “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who
cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the
teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not
serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard
about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be
wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of
peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus
be with you.” (NIV)

Antidote: "Strive for unity and maintain inward peace, as God works through your relationships. Learn to speak the truth in love. Look behind the divisions. Surround yourself with people of spiritual wisdom and discernment." J.Robert Clinton

Reflective Questions:

Who in your church are you having negative thoughts about? Members? Leaders? Staff?

Are these negative thoughts based in reality, rumor, personal bias, or cultural prejudice?

Are these negative thoughts being generated out of some sense of insecurity on your part?

What are specific action steps that you can take to change these
negative thoughts and feelings into peaceful thoughts and feelings?

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, grant me the inner strength and mental toughness to
fight for the unity of the church, relational harmony and the progress
of the gospel. Help me to live securely in Christ who is greater than my insecurities. May
I continue to walk in the spiritual blessings that Jesus Christ has
achieved for me through His death, resurrection and defeat of the evil
one. Grant me the ability to admit when I am wrong, speak the truth with
love and promote peace even when it involves personal sacrifice. Grant
me the courage to take positive steps towards protecting my
relationships with my spouse, my children, my partners in the gospel and
within the church. Father of Peace we rejoice in your victory over the father of lies. Amen.

Argentinean
leader Ed Silvoso said, “The Church in the West today presents too easy
a target for Satan. We do not believe we are at war. We do not know
where the battleground is located, and, in spite of our weapons, they
are neither loaded nor aimed at the right target. We are unaware of how
vulnerable we are. We are better fitted for a parade that for an
amphibious landing.”

The
Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, “…in order that Satan
might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” (II
Corinthians 2:11).

Paul, as a spiritual leader, acknowledges to this
troubled church that he knows the plans, thoughts and cunning of the
evil one. In the context of this verse he reveals that one of the
tactics of the enemy is an unforgiving spirit which provides an entry
point for the enemy's influence in the church's life. I also would
suggest that in this statement he is presuming that we can know them
(the enemy’s tactics) and not be outwitted by them for they are well
documented throughout the pages of Scripture. Scripture reveals to us the reasons for Satan’s fall (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19); the tactics he used in his temptation of Adam & Eve (Genesis 3:1-10) and his devices to tempted our Savior (Matthew 4). We
see throughout the pages of Scripture Satan’s defeat (Hebrews 2:12-14)
and his ultimate demise (Revelation 20:10). Serious spiritual leaders
should be fully aware of these counter-attacks on His leaders and His
church. Ignorance of the enemy's tactics is one of the downfalls that
many leaders face and ultimately leads to ones disengagement in God’s
redemptive work in the world.

In Robert Clinton’s Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians: Problematic Apostolic Leadership, he writes several excellent articles on spiritual warfare. In one article entitled, “Spiritual Warfare—Satan’s Tactics”
he offers a simple listing of times when Paul refers to Satan or the
Devil and or demonic work. I have found these references very
instructive and illuminating and they serve as the foundation of 14
devotional thoughts I am writing for spiritual leaders to increase our
awareness of spiritual warfare. Clinton
states that, “There are over 89 passages in scripture that deal with or
mention the Devil or Satan, along with others that discuss demonic
influence.” Through these simple lessons our focus will be on the 14 Pauline passages, but they all must be taken in context of the whole of Scripture.